Social Media Guidelines

Social media is a space for real-time connection with your audience. It’s important to have a social media strategy to maximize success. 

• Determine the purpose of your social media accounts. What are you trying to accomplish?
• Understand your audience. Determine who they are, what they are looking for, and what platforms they are most engaged on. 
  • Do not post the same content on every platform. Know what content resonates with the audience of each platform. 
• Create a plan for ownership of social media. Know who is responding to messages, posting, and engaging with other accounts. 
  • Like and reply to comments made on your posts. 
  • Reply to direct messages or questions within one business day.
  • Engage with content from other GRCC accounts, community partners, students, etc. 
• Every social media platform provides analytic data, use this information to your advantage. 
  • Monitor analytics regularly to determine trends in content performance.
  • If a specific message is underperforming, consider alternative ways to share the message or utilizing a different platform. 
• Do not let your account go inactive. Consistent engagement is key to a successful social presence. 
• An account that has made no original posts in two weeks is considered inactive and risks being deactivated.  

Social media is a public-facing communication tool. When posting on a GRCC social media account you are representing the college. 

• Maintain professionalism when posting on social media. 
• Be respectful of others. The use of obscene, threatening, discriminatory, or derogatory language is prohibited. 
• Do not disclose information that is confidential by law or regulation.
• Only post accurate information. Fact check information before posting. 
• Do not share opinions or rumors.
• Do not use copyrighted or trademarked materials. 
• Proofread your content before posting. Social media is a public space. Posts, comments, etc. can still exist even after you delete it. 
• All users are expected to know and adhere to the Terms of Service of the host site. 

Social media channels are a part of the GRCC brand and must uphold brand standards. 

• Account names should include “GRCC” followed by the name of the department/organization. Example: GRCC Music
• Social media handles should be the same across all social platforms to maintain consistency. Example: @GRCCMusic 
• GRCC associated social media accounts must have their official college logo as their profile pictures to increase recognizability. 
• Include high quality photos or videos when possible. 
  • Know the optimized image sizes for each platform. 
  • Always get permission when posting a photo that is not yours, and give credit to the photographer when possible. 
• Graphics and photos should use the GRCC official colors when possible. 
• The Graphic Design team can assist with creating graphics, logos, etc for accounts.

Ensuring that our content is accessible to all our audiences isn’t just important, it’s required. College policy requires ADA compliance. Accounts are expected to adhere to accessibility standards for each platform.

• Closed Captions should be on all videos. Some platforms will auto-generate captions, but they should always be edited for accuracy. 
• Fonts should be of an easily readable size and style. 
• Language should be simple and easy to understand. Spell out acronyms that are not commonly understood.
• Use alternative text (alt text) on images when possible. Learn about how to appropriately use alt text.

The GRCC Communications Department is responsible for emergency/incident communication. 

• Other social media accounts may share the primary account posts, but should not create their own posts. 
• Refer users to the college homepage, official GRCC emails, and the RAVE emergency notifications if asked about an emergency. 

Every GRCC associated social media account is required to track and report account analytics on a monthly basis. 

• Analytics must be reported for individual platforms. 
• Analytics must track frequency of posts, reach, engagement and followers. 
• The Social Media Coordinator will provide a template and instructions to report analytics. 
• Analytic reports must be turned in to the Social Media Coordinator at the end of each month. 
• Failure to report analytics for two months in a row will result in account deactivation.